History of Arabian Perfume

Perfume has a subliminal effect on our memory, it arose inimitable positive impact on persons’ mind. The word perfume has arrived from the Latin word name “Per fumus” which means through the smoke. Have you ever heard the history of perfume? Yes, even perfume has its history. It has a great history from Romans to Persians and the Arabs. A cuneiform tablet in 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamia has recorded the earliest use of perfumes. In early history, perfume was mainly for luxury and gradually was almost dead, but Arabs preserved the tradition of perfume and later with a rise of Islam it increased leap and bound in their day to day life and in religious practice, as it is an essential part of Muslim culture. You might have heard about the Arabian perfume? It’s alluring the globe with its distinctive fragrances disseminating the heritage and luxury of life. The history unfolds with a fascinating story; let’s sneak a look into it.

Islamic cultures, for instance, the Persians and the Arabs were mostly traders because of the desert and they had to go far distance for trading with different communities. Because of this, they used to bring a range of spices and wood for creating Arabic perfumes from India and other Asian countries. Few elements and base accords playing a vital role for Arabian Perfume are Oud (oudh), Amber, Musk, Jasmine, Frankincense and Agarwood. Equally Rose in Arabian Perfume also has a key part to play, the prominent Damask rose (Rose with 30 petals) that is found in the Valley of Taif in Saudi Arabia.

The history has revealed the evidence of perfume and the contribution of the Arabic perfume industry since long. The founder of Arabic perfume is recorded in the 9th century by Abbasid Scientist named Abu Yusuf Yaqub bin Ishaaq al Kindi, who used to experiments with various herbs and plants for cosmetics, perfumes & pharmaceuticals. It is also believed that he has come up with a range of secret varieties of fragrances. He also wrote a book by name ‘The book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations’ containing more than 100 recipes for fragrant oils. The other name that also has a significant contribution to Arabian Perfume was Jabir ibn Hayyan who developed new techniques in perfume making that include distillation, filtration and evaporation.

Since then perfumery and fragrance have ingrained in the deep culture of Arabian Peninsula. The two major types are Bakhoor and oud (oudh) apart from pure natural oils and concentrated oils. Even since till day the culture has unchanged; if you visit there you will still find the sweet aroma lingering in their houses, mall’s alley and even in shops.